The Cost of Cables

Brian, I do hope to keep this discussion on track, so I will very briefly comment on the $$$ amounts in my analogy. I used the numbers as an illustration, not a formula. Your friend opened a restaurant and expected to recoup his cost over time. For the sake of argument I put a dollar value to a person’s time, and spread the re-cooped time over two years. The amount could be $50 an hour, and spread out over four years, the point is the same however.

For real life application, I expect a person in the business of audio, which owns his company and feeds his family from the income; $50 would not be worth the effort. Perhaps I am wrong, I am sure my idea of what time is worth is not necessarily accurate, but with attorneys charging $400-500 an hour, and accountants at $300-400 I think $100 was a reasonable number.

Anyway, let us not let the discussion fall to factious numbers. Instead, you asked some very good questions regarding R&D and pushing the level of performance of our equipment. I do not believe cables are the only area advancing; it just happens that cables are the topic here. Cables have however made strides that have resulted in quantum leaps at times, where the components may have been less impressive. The research money and time has gone into power conditioning and cables, because these have been the least understood, and have hardly received any attention until fifteen years ago. They therefore had a lot of ground to make up.

But if we want to look at components, LAMM introduced a new amp at CES this year. It was $250,000. I doubt they expect these to sell too fast, I assume this is more a statement of the time and materials that have gone into pushing the design beyond what was possible before. Wilson Audio has poured copious amounts of money into design of cones, and into resonance research with materials. This has led to new cabinet materials that are completely non resonant, and these materials show up in their $75,000 speakers.

We could find countless examples of multi-hundred thousand dollar components that have pushed the industry to continue to develop. Audio Note for example not only have amps well over $100,000, but they sell quite a few of them! So if the top of the top is $100,000 plus amps, $50,000 pre-amps, $100,000 front ends and $100,000 plus speakers, than the top of the top system must be nearly $500,000. If this is true, and these components represent “The America’s Cup” development, or the F-1 circuit, or… then $100,000 in cables is not out of the range of believability.

I think the problem we quasi audiophiles have is a $5,000 cable is almost in reach, where a $100,000 component is not. It is possible to hear how the best of the best sound in our systems through cables, so we stretch to buy them. Later we are ridiculed for having as much money in cables as we do equipment.

All of this needs to be kept in perspective. To some, money is either spent or used as toilet paper. For others we can get into serious debt trying to chase our passions. I know more than a few people who have taken out large second mortgages to pay for a boat, a car, you name it, is it so crazy to expect some might want to try the best possible in audio too?

Yes it all costs a lot of money, yes the amounts are staggering, but to simply claim it’s all profit and these guys are making a fortune is wrong. This trend is in every passion I know of, why are we so critical? I recommend if the prices do not make sense, then do not pay the price. But please do not criticizes those who what the best they can afford, and please be insightful of how these great advancements have come about.

Jd

Tvad, you had me going, then I look to see who it was. Good one ;-)

Excellent reply Jd.

I think the problem we quasi audiophiles have is a $5,000 cable is almost in reach, where a $100,000 component is not.

Good point and I think there is truth to this.

That said, I continue to struggle with $5000 for "wire", especially if one were to compare it to say a $5000 amp. (Again, I am not denying their performance.)

You have given some very thought provoking responses to this discussion Jd.

Brian

why is there so much of an obsession with the cost of cable ?

consider cable as you would any other expensive object of consumption. if you consider cable "over" priced, don't buy it. why spend so much time and energy on a topic which really is not that important ?

aren't there more significant subjects to discuss ?

Mrtennis....You say "why is there so much of an obsession with the cost of cable ?"

It's because the function of a cable is so simple...Provide an electrical conductor from point A to point B, with insulation on the outside. People can understand that, and question why it costs so much. An audio amplifier is a bit of a mystery to many audiophiles, and they are more easily convinced that it is rocket science.

Provide an electrical conductor from point A to point B, with insulation on the outside. People can understand that, and question why it costs so much. An audio amplifier is a bit of a mystery to many audiophiles, and they are more easily convinced that it is rocket science.

Good point, cables and amplifiers are hardly rocket science. As in most consumer products, each "rocket" is a marketing pitch to create tiered products for customers willing to part with more money to have something slightly better. The key word being ***slightly***.

In all honesty, most mid fi gear is extremely good (at modest SPL levels, of course). However, stoking enthusiasm through hyperbolic testimonials and pseudo-science works wonders.

Only a child might believe that the Ford Fusion can be parked on the vertical face of a building. Unfortunately, the line between fantasy and reality is not so obvious in the jargon cluttered world of high end audio...and the truth is we often want to believe the hype (especially after spending lots of hard earned $$$'s)!

As Tom Petty sings "It's Good to be King" and high priced exclusive products can help make one feel that way...so believe!